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Renee Tabben

Market president, Grand Rapids, Bank of America Corp.

Career ladder: Earned an MBA from Northwestern University's J. L. Kellogg School of Management. Her financial career began with temp work before joining Dean Witter Reynolds in 1997 and Morgan Stanley in 2000. She joined Merrill Lynch in 2008. Tabben, 44, rose to Merrill Lynch Wealth Management market executive for West Central Michigan before adding the role of president for Bank of America's Grand Rapids market in March. The market includes four counties. She also leads the bank's corporate responsibility efforts in the market.

Power metrics: On the personal wealth side, she leads more than 130 financial advisers in the Grand Rapids, Portage, Muskegon, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Saginaw and Traverse City offices.

Bank of America is the nation's second-largest full-service bank, with $1.6 billion in assets, 220,000 employees and 4,700 branches as of Dec. 31, 2015.

Super power: Her continuous optimism, which is rooted in her mother's decision to enroll her in the Optimist International Oratorical group. "Call it naiveté or Midwestern attitude, each day I believe it's going to get better," Tabben says. "There is so much yet to do and I can't wait to go get it."

Biggest setback: Tabben landed what she thought was her dream job in her late 20s, only to have it eliminated after nine months. "That experience taught me a very valuable lesson: Change is constant and you need to be ready for it."

Why did you get into the financial services field? "My interest in providing financial advice to individuals and families came about from my personal experience. The importance of financial security and being fluent with fundamental building blocks of wealth wasn't important to me until my sister suffered a dramatic car accident in California. I was working in Ohio at the time, and for the first time in my life, the financial situation of my family prevented me and my parents from being able to immediately be with my sister."

Surprising fact: She worked as a musical theater performer in New York City before going into finance.

What advice do you have for young women trying to get into this field? "Be curious ... At the most basic level, financial services is not just about numbers. It is about helping to make peoples' lives better. This means being able to communicate, connect and understand the life priorities of others. Don't be intimidated by what you may think financial services means — instead, leverage your natural talents to truly connect with the person who needs your help."

Advice for women seeking success: "Don't wait for someone to show you the path to success. Define what success looks like and design a plan to get there. To quote Steven Sondheim, 'Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor.' Be sure to be ready to seize the opportunity when she shows up!"

The new study by Grand Valley State University of Fortune 500 boards shows a correlation between board diversity and healthier profits, and Michigan companies have ample opportunity to improve board diversity, the study's co-author says.

In an effort to boost women's representation on for-profit corporate boards, Crain's Detroit Business on Tuesday night launched the Michigan Women's Directory. The launch coincided with the 100 Most Influential Women in Michigan recognition event that was attended by about 700 people.